Electric steering column apparatuses have been publicly known conventionally (for example, see Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-83392, Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-231288).
One of the electric steering column apparatuses of this kind includes a steering column supported on the vehicle body, a steering shaft rotatably supported by the steering column, and a telescopic mechanism driven by an electric motor. In such an electric steering column apparatus, the steering column has an outer jacket and an inner jacket inserted into the outer jacket so as to be axially movable relative to the outer jacket.
An electric steering column apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 has a pressing mechanism for reducing the play between the outer jacket and the inner jacket. This pressing mechanism has pressing members disposed at two positions apart from each other in the axial direction of the outer jacket, and each pressing member presses the inner jacket radially inward from the outer jacket side.
One of the electric steering column apparatuses of this kind includes a steering column supported on the vehicle body, a steering shaft rotatably supported by the steering column, and a telescopic mechanism driven by an electric motor. In such an electric steering column apparatus, the steering column has an outer jacket, an inner jacket inserted into the outer jacket so as to be axially movable relative to the outer jacket, and a mid jacket interposed between the outer jacket and the inner jacket. The inner jacket is press-fitted and fixed to the mid jacket and is normally integrally held with the mid jacket.
An electric steering column apparatus described in Patent Literature 2 has a stopper mechanism so that the inner jacket does not circumferentially rotate relative to the mid jacket. This stopper mechanism includes an elongated hole formed in the upper jacket along the axial direction and a stopper fixed to the mid jacket and inserted into the elongated hole of the upper jacket.